Steve Aschburner of NBA.com wrote a piece on the late
Melvin Turpin and his lifelong battle with obesity. In the article, Aschburner writes that it's a tragedy that Turpin finds sympathy after his passing, when he should've had it all along. Turpin had so much potential in the league but his weight and conditioning issues prevented him from a longer career.
From the article:
"Mel battled that and it was one of his downfalls as far as getting out of the league. He couldn't maintain any sort of conditioning and never got a chance to play a lot of consecutive minutes, at least when he was in Utah. When he did get in, he'd have moments where you were like, 'Holy smokes, this guy's the real deal!' But then he just couldn't do it again."
Turpin was the sixth overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft and spent five seasons in the league with the Cavaliers, the Jazz and the Washington Bullets. Turpin ranks 16th in UK history with 1,509 career points.
[NBA.com: "Only now, after a lifelong battle, does Turpin find sympathy"]
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard